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Monday, November 29, 2010

Asian Pears & Pork

I experimented with a new local ingredient! Asian pears. Asian pears are huge! They look almost like an apple and are very similar in look and crispness. I found out that it is NOT a cross between an apple and a pear, just similar in shape and what not. It is much more crisp and does not cook down quite as much, so when you do cook it, it still remains quite crisp! And it tastes like a pear, and has a pear grainy texture.

Being inspired by this new fruit and taking stock of what was in my fridge, I decided to combine the pears with some pork! And....make it spicy! I found a wonderfully easy recipe and it turned out to be really good and flavorful.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sprinkle the pork on all sides with the spices. Heat a good amount of olive oil in a lg. stockpot or oven-safe dutch oven. Add the onions and pears and saute until the onions soften and start to brown. In a separate lg. skillet, quickly brown the pork, about 1-2 min. per side then ad them to the pear and onion mixture. Add the wine (more if you want a "broth") and move to the oven. Roast for about 20 min. Stir and serve with white or brown rice.

*NOTE: I did not have five spice powder so I used a combo of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder, and cayenne pepper to give it a kick!

This recipe was quite yummy and I am looking forward to experimenting with other new local ingredients! Im excited for the purple sweet potato!